Wednesday

AUBURNDALE — A clump of moss tumbled across the empty playground of what once was Kingdom Prep Academy on Wednesday, the front doors to the former private school locked and the phone number etched onto them disconnected. The school’s website also has vanished from the internet.

The school apparently closed permanently in May, three months after its headmaster and football coach, Charles “Pastor Tiger” Aguon, was arrested and charged with lewd molestation of a 15-year-old boy.

“As far as my knowledge, they have closed,” Florida Coalition of Christian Private Schools President Joe Gibilisco said late Wednesday afternoon. “We had dealings with them, but we had revoked their membership with us.”

Now parents say they are struggling to obtain their children’s records so they can transfer to another school.

“I’m very upset right now because I don’t want my son to lose his spot at Jordan Christian Prep,” said Laquinta Ray, whose 16-year-old son is a sophomore. “I don’t want them to send the records at the last minute and then me have to try to find a school for my son to go to.”

Ray said there are a lot of parents just like her who can't register their children at another school, but there is no one to call — one school official apparently has changed his number and parents can’t reach him. An email sent by The Ledger to a generic school address bounced back as undeliverable.

Ray said she sent her son there because she had heard great things about the school and her son wanted to play on the Royals' sports teams. She said she was stunned when she heard about Aguon’s arrest in February.

“It’s supposed to be the most loving school in the world and I’m like, oh wow, how could something like that happen?” Ray said.

Lacheryl Boyd received her three sons’ transcripts via email this week. One is transferring to Winter Haven High School, while her two younger sons are hoping to go to Grace Lutheran School. They’re on a waiting list because the school’s rolls filled up before she received the records.

“I don’t know how official they are — normally they come sealed,” Boyd said Wednesday. “I’ve never had them emailed."

Polk County Public Schools Board member Billy Townsend has been railing against what he calls “scam schools” since Aguon’s arrest, saying there is no one overseeing these private institutions or people like Aguon — other than law enforcement when harm has already been done to children. He has often said that these schools take taxpayer funds away from regular public schools, which harms education.

Student expenses at Kingdom Prep were paid almost exclusively by several of the seven state scholarship or voucher programs. Those scholarships or vouchers provide money for students from low- and middle-income families, disabled students, students who had attended a failing public school, students who have been bullied, and/or students who are struggling readers.

“I'm not sure what the district can do to get those records,” Townsend said Wednesday. “To my knowledge, there is no one to call for help if one of these schools scams or hurts you, which happens all the time across Florida. Unfortunately, this is the real-world reality of vouchers.”

PCPS officials said they will do what they can.

“The school district will work with the families of students who attended Kingdom Prep and do whatever it can to help their children successfully transition to the public school system,” said PCPS spokeswoman Rachel Pleasant.

Officials with the Florida Department of Education said they are looking into the matter.

State Sen. Kelli Stargel, a proponent of state scholarships or vouchers, did not return an emailed request for comment Wednesday.

Aguon was released from the Polk County Jail two weeks after his February 5 arrest. His case is scheduled for pre-trial conference on July 2.

Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802-7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.

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